The Dirty Dozen: Ways to Reduce the 12 Biggest Foreign Materials Problems
Whenever anyone one of us eats or drinks something, we have certain expectations. The product should look, smell and taste as expected. But what happens when something unexpected occurs, such as finding a foreign material in the food? The fortunate ones discover the "the surprise" before they put the food into their mouth. The unfortunate? Well, everyone has heard the old joke, "What's worse than finding a worm in your apple? Half a worm."
Foreign materials in foods are a real concern to the food processor, not only in terms of the consumer complaints that arise, but as an important factor in the effective implementation of the company's food safety program, particularly the Hazard Analysis Critical Control (HACCP) system. Consuming half a worm might nauseate the consumer, but it is not likely to result in surgical intervention as would the ingestion of a piece of glass or metal. In other words, not all extraneous materials render a food unsafe, but it behooves us all to keep foreign materials out of foods both consumer to prevent dissatisfaction, which can lead to adverse publicity and lost sales, and to prevent a food safety hazard as identified in regulatory compliance policy. Let's examine the following questions: What are the potential physical hazards in foods? How might these materials gain access to the processing system or the product? How can physical hazards be detected and removed?
Defining Physical Hazards
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) held a two-day technical conference in September 2002 to discuss foreign material contaminants, prerequisite programs and validation issues. While FSIS administers the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Egg Products Inspection Act, the group of presenters touched on many aspects of extraneous materials hazards of concern to most types of food processing and handling operations. Much discussion centered on how foreign materials need to be addressed in the HACCP plan and through Standard Sanitation Operating Procedures (SSOPs) and prerequisite programs. Here's what some of these food safety experts reported:
• About 80% of foreign body ingestions occur in the pediatric age group, or children below the age of three. It is estimated through a variety of reports and case studies that anywhere from 1% to 5% of foreign bodies ingested will result in some injury. A classic and very sad example of foreign materials and children occurred within the past few years. A gel-based candy was taken off the market after causing choking deaths in young children. This candy was supposed to melt in the mouth. Instead, it lodged in the throat and stayed there.
• According to a passive surveillance system through which FSIS receives consumer complaints on agency-inspected product (i.e., representative of only what consumers or state health departments have called in to report), of 1,309 complaints reported from 2001 to September 2002, 331 were related to foreign materials (25%). About 6% of those cases resulted in injury. The most common materials were identified as metal, glass and plastic.
Almost all HACCP classes include a discussion of potential hazards in foods. The focus of this discussion is usually the biological hazards, which because they are the most important in terms of public health makes complete sense. The lecturer would be remiss if physical hazards were ignored, however. Before entering into a discussion of physical hazards, let's review some of the basics.
Food processors are mandated by law to produce safe foods. A safe food may be defined as a product which contains no physical, chemical or microbial organisms or by-products of those organisms which if consumed by man will result in illness, injury, or death (an unacceptable consumer health risk). The definition purposely does not use the term contaminants because many of the potential hazards in food that HACCP programs are designed to address are typicallly found in or on the food. It is their concentration, numbers or size that create potential safety problems. We must, therefore, understand what constitutes a hazard. A food hazard may be defined as:
Any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause an unacceptable consumer health risk.
In terms of physical hazards in foods, the following are pertinent government definitions:
• The Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, 402(a)(3&4): "Adulterated food consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or is otherwise unfit for food" or has "prepared packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health."
• Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) 110.80(b)(8): "Effective measures shall be taken to protect against the inclusion of metal or other extraneous materials in food. Compliance with this requirement may be accomplished by using sieves, traps, magnets, electronic metal detectors, or other suitable effective means."
In addition to these regulatory definitions, government agencies have determined that characteristics of the foreign material contaminants also are important when assessing how hazardous such inclusions. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been monitoring injuries resulting from foreign materials since 1972. Over a 25-year period, the agency evaluated 190 cases involving hard or sharp foreign materials in foods. The agency has developed criteria for determining whether a product is adulterated and could cause injury. Only hard or sharp foreign objects that measured 7 mm to 25 mm were determined to be hazardous. Objects less than 7 mm were determined to be too small to cause injury and those greater than 25 mm were so large that the agency felt that there was little chance of a consumer eating the food. Clearly, other characteristics such as the concentration and number of inclusions also have an impact on whether the physical contaminant is a food safety issue or a consumer perception issue.
When defining physical hazards, the processor also mustlook beyond the regulatory definitions to his own processes and systems. When conducting a hazard analysis, for example, the HACCP team looks at potential hazards that could realistically cause illness or injury. The consideration of what consitutes unwanted foreign materials inclusions will vary from operation to operation. Processors need to look at what is coming in, how the product is processed and the form of the end product as part of their hazard analysis.
Similarly, another source that may be used for determining whether something is or is not a hazard is consumer complaint records. If a company has been operating for an extended period of time, these records can support a conclusion that a particular foreign material is not a realistic hazard. One also needs to be realistic in these assessments. Single-strength juices and beverages are not likely to have foreign materials in them, especially if processed through a unit such as a plate heat exchanger. Years ago, I looked into a complaint that a 46-ounce can of juice contained a banana slug. There simply was no way that such a creature could have gone through the process. Such an event could only be caused by employee sabotage or consumer fraud.
The bottom line is that each and every operation needs to evaluate whether foreign materials are a realistic hazard, and if so, how can these will be prevented or controlled. Do you need a CCP, or do you believe that the hazard(s) can be controlled through your prerequisite programs?